‘Provocative’ song row: SC questions Gujarat Police over FIR against Congress MP

New Delhi, Feb 10 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Monday questioned the Gujarat Police over an FIR against Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi for allegedly posting an edited video of a provocative song.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said the Gujarat High Court, which junked Pratapgarhi’s petition to quash FIR, did not appreciate the meaning of the poem.

“It’s ultimately a poem. It is not against any religion. This poem indirectly says even if somebody indulges in violence, we will not indulge in violence. That’s the message which the poem gives. It is not against any particular community,” the bench said.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Pratapgarhi, said the high court order was bad in law as the judge did “violence” to the law.

The top court deferred the matter for three weeks after the state’s counsel sought time to file a response.

The bench asked the counsel to “apply mind” and come back to the court.

The apex court on January 21 stayed proceedings against Pratapgarhi in a case against him for allegedly posting an edited video of a provocative song and issued notice to the Gujarat government and complainant Kishanbhai Deepakbhai Nanda on his appeal.

The Congress leader challenged the January 17 order of the Gujarat High Court which dismissed his petition for quashing the FIR filed against him saying the investigation was at a very nascent stage.

Pratapgarhi was booked on January 3 for the alleged provocative song during a mass marriage function he attended in Gujarat’s Jamnagar.

Pratapgarhi, national chairman of the Congress’ minority cell, was booked, among others, under Section 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on the basis of religion, race, etc.) and 197 (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The 46-second video clip, uploaded by Pratapgarhi on X, showed flower petals being showered at him as he walks waving his hands with a background song, the lyrics of which the FIR alleged were provocative, detrimental to national unity and hurting religious feelings.

In his plea to quash and set aside the FIR, he claimed the poem being recited in the background carried “a message of love and non-violence”.

Pratapgarhi said the FIR was used as a tool to harass him and lodged with a “malicious intent and malafide motives”.

Claiming his social media post did not in any way provoke enmity between groups and no case was made out, Pratapgarhi said he was being implicated due to his association with Congress.

“The FIR is based on frivolous and unsubstantiated grounds. A bare perusal of the FIR reveals that certain words were being taken out of the context,” his plea argued.

Public prosecutor Hardik Dave opposed the plea saying the words of the poem clearly indicate the rage to be raised against the throne of the state.

Dave said though a notice was issued on January 4 asking Pratapgarhi to remain present on January 11, he was not available and another notice was issued on January 15.

The Gujarat High Court on January 17 referred to the material of the prosecution and said after the post on social media, the response received from the various persons of the community indicated the repercussion was “very serious” and certainly disturbing to the social harmony of the society.